


Bowled Over

by wackyjacqs



Series: Bizarre Holidays [222]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Reality, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-27 00:03:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20750984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wackyjacqs/pseuds/wackyjacqs
Summary: Tonight, it's the turn of the bowling alley to play host to the personnel of Cheyenne Mountain as the Stargate Command Bowling League kicks off for another season, and Jack's pretty confident this year will be SG-1’s year.





	Bowled Over

**Author's Note:**

> Written for ‘Bowling Day’ (8 August). 
> 
> The only word I can use to describe this update is, random. That, and it’s full of puns and bad jokes. Really, _really_bad jokes.__

Most of the local businesses are used to Air Force officers coming and going around town, but as Jack kills the engine on his truck and glances around the parking lot, he can’t help but chuckle. Virtually every car he sees belongs to someone from the SGC, and he realizes – not for the first time – that when the base personnel decide to descend on one of the nearby proprietors for some base-wide team bonding, whether it’s O’Malleys or the bowling alley, they do tend to take over.

Tonight, it’s the latter that’s playing host as the Stargate Command Bowling League kicks off for another season and Jack grins as he lifts his bag from the passenger seat and jumps out of the truck.

The tournament is a bit of fun – even if it does turn competitive, but it’s a few hours every week where he and his colleagues can forget about the day job for a while and relax. It’s a reminder that it isn’t just about work, or focusing on the bad missions that happen. It’s a good way of forming bonds with your team, and other team members, that doesn’t involve trying to outrun the Goa’uld on some remote planet or engaging an enemy over a firefight. It’s about friendship and enjoying themselves – and if some money happens to change hands and there’s good food and beer, that’s a bonus in Jack’s opinion.

He shifts his hold on the bowling bag and starts to whistle softly. Despite the changes to his team this year, he’s pretty confident SG-1 are going to win this opening round. There’s just himself, Daniel and Teal’c now – the _Pin Bowl Wizards_. Kawalsky, captain of _The Gutter Gang_, was their fourth team member until two weeks ago when he landed himself a promotion and subsequently received his own SG team, SG-6, and bowling team to boot. Then, there’s Ferretti and the rest of SG-2 making up _Strike Force_; Makepeace is the captain of the _Ballbarians_ and joined by his SG-3 teammates; while Major James Howe from SG-4 leads _Lane Violators_; Major Castleman leads SG-5 and _The Incredibowl Hulks_; with Major Long taking the helm of SG-7’s _Right Up Our Alley_. Janet Frasier, Walter Harriman, Sergeant Siler and General Hammond make up the final team – _The Pin Pushers._

But even though his team are a man down, Jack isn’t fazed. He’s feeling lucky this evening and reckons SG-1 can do just fine with three bowlers.

Walking into the building, the smells of greasy food and booze reaches his nose and casts a quick glance to see most of the teams already present and getting a head-start on dinner. He makes his way through the noise and the crowd before he joins Daniel and Teal’c in one of the booths.

“Evening campers,” he nods, throwing his bag onto the floor and unzipping it to retrieve his bowling shoes. “Glad you could make it, Doc,” he adds a moment later, when he sees Janet sitting alone on the opposite bench.

“Wouldn’t miss it, sir,” she smiles back.

“Can’t help but notice you’re looking a little outnumbered over there.”

“Very funny, colonel.”

He chuckles softly to himself and concentrates on changing his shoes. “Where are your teammates anyway?”

“General Hammond is on his way, as is Walter. He called just before they left the base.”

“What about Siler?”

“You didn’t hear, sir?”

At Janet’s hesitation, he glances up and frowns. “No – I haven’t been to the base today.”

“Oh.”

“What happened?”

A snicker to Jack’s left has him turning to face Daniel who exchanges an amused look with the doctor.

“Siler’s broken three toes on his left foot.”

Jack tries, but fails, to hide his amusement. They’ve only been working for the Stargate Program for a year but already the sergeant has garnered a reputation for being accident-prone. “What’d he do this time?”

“He came here last night to practice,” Janet sighs, “and managed to drop a bowling ball on his foot.”

“Well, you know what they say,” Jack draws out smugly as he stands and flexes his own feet, “split happens.”

Daniel groans at his attempt at a joke, while the doc just rolls her eyes.

“So, you’re also a man down this evening,” he adds.

“Not exactly, sir.”

His gaze snaps to Janet only to discover she’s now the one wearing a smug expression. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“General Hammond said he had it covered,” she shrugs.

Jack studies her for another few seconds before he looks away. He can’t think of who the general would bring along as a replacement for Siler. Due to the league, it’s only a skeleton staff on duty this evening, so there isn’t anyone else they can pull away to join them. He’s just about to ask if his teammates know anything else about the situation when Hammond appears with Walter in tow.

“Gentlemen. Janet,” he greets warmly. A chorus of ‘sirs’ greet him as he moves to the booth opposite SG-1. “Sorry I’m late,” Hammond continues as he starts to change his shoes, “my meeting with Doctor Carter ran late.”

“Doctor Carter?”

“Sam Carter,” George nods and Jack vaguely remembers the name cropping up in conversation a few days ago. “The new head of the science department,” he adds. “We were just going over the paperwork and transfer papers. Their official starting date is tomorrow.”

“Great,” Jack mutters. Another scientist. He doesn’t have a lot of time for those – Daniel being the obvious exception – but as he’s the second-in-command of the SGC, he has no choice but to be aware of every member of staff. He bites back a sigh at the thought of having to listen to technobabble in the morning when he drops by the science labs to say hello and warn them not to get themselves or anybody else killed because of their scientific curiosity.

“So, where is Doctor Carter?”

“Just arriving.”

Jack frowns at Daniel’s question as he tries to piece together the parts of the conversation he’s obviously missed. “What?”

Hammond gives him a long-suffering smile. “I said Sam will be joining us this evening. I thought it would be a good way to make the introductions – and also act as a replacement for Siler.”

“I think that’s cheating, sir.”

“I run the base, Jack,” George chuckles. “I think that makes me King Pin.”

“Is that a joke, sir?”

“Not a very good one.”

“Hmm,” he smirks. “I think you could say it was gutterly ridiculous, sir.”

“Oh, spare me,” Daniel finally moans, reaching for a beer. Knowing his crappy jokes and puns annoy the life out of the archaeologist, Jack tries to think of a few more he can use against his friend over the course of the evening when movement out of the corner of his eye catches his attention.

“General Hammond?”

Jack looks up and freezes. He sees his commander turn towards the young woman that’s now joined them and he can’t think of anything except how beautiful she looks. She’s tall and athletic, her jeans and black leather jacket clinging to her in all the right places; her long, blonde hair falling loosely around her shoulders; her eyes, bright blue and sparkling as she talks to the general.

Jack tries to tear his gaze away but then she looks straight at him and he thinks it’s a cliché but she takes his breath away.

“Colonel.”

He glances at Hammond. “Sir?”

“This is Sam Carter and the newest member of the _The Pin Pushers,_” and Jack notices how George says it just loud enough for those within earshot to know that she’s the newest member of their odd little family under Cheyenne Mountain and a host of cheers and raised beer bottles meets the introduction.

“You’re Doctor Carter?”

She smiles at his question but reaches to shake his hand. “You can call me Samantha. Or Sam.”

“I’m Jack. O’Neill. Colonel O’Neill.” He winces at his inability to suddenly string a sentence together. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” she nods, then turns her attention to the rest of his team.

He continues to observe her while Daniel makes the rest of the introductions and when he looks away, he notices Hammond is staring at him, an inscrutable expression on his face. He clears his throat quickly.

“So, Samantha,” Jack says, deciding he likes the way her name sounds on his lips. “You any good at bowling?”

* * *

It turns out Sam Carter is one hell of a good bowler. The teams are only warming up, but he can just tell. There’s an elegance and a grace in her stance that’s also confident and sure. And he knows he’s screwed – in possibly more ways than one because he cannot take his eyes off her.

He tries to focus but his first few attempts don’t go as well as he hopes when he clips six of the pins on his first shot, then manages to miss the other four completely on his second go. Before he realizes, the tournament begins, so he tells himself it’ll all be fine.

Sam goes first for Hammond’s team and secures herself a spare, while Jack messes up his go, managing to knock eight of the pins down, leaving one standing on either side of the lane. His second ball hits the gutter and he’s met with a host of jeers and disparaging comments but shrugs them off.

“I’m just letting you get a head start,” he tells Sam, before he grabs a beer and tries to act casual.

When it’s the doctor’s turn to bowl again, she studies the selection of bowling balls, finally makes her choice and steps forward. As she positions herself, Jack swears he can see her lips moving and if he didn’t know any better, he’d swear she was reciting some kind of scientific equation. A loud cheer suddenly cuts through his thoughts and his attention shifts to discover Sam now has a strike to her name.

She offers him a smirk before she brushes by him. “It’s not my first game,” she shrugs.

Suddenly, he realizes he’s been taken for a ride – and not just by Carter, but General Hammond too, and from then on,_ it’s on._

Every time he steps up to bowl, he feels her eyes on him, analyzing his every move as if he’s some kind of science experiment. Which, he decides, wouldn’t be a bad thing in Carter’s case. Unfortunately, the thought of Sam studying him up close and personal distracts him and he, again, splits the pins down the middle. He swears under his breath and when he returns to his seat, Teal’c leans over and in his not-so-subtle way tells him to concentrate. The blush on his face deepens when he hears a giggle coming from the booth opposite. He's stopped from commenting, however, when Kawalsky drops down onto the bench beside him.

“You’re well on the way to becoming an honorary member of _The Gutter Gang_ this evening, Jack.”

“Ha_ ha._”

Shaking his head at his friend’s laughter, Jack lets his attention wander back to Sam. It's almost her turn again to bowl and just like she watched him, he finds himself following her every move too. Only instead of unnerving her, it seems to make her even more confident and she lands her third strike of the evening. A low whistle escapes Kawalsky before he nudges Jack with his elbow.

“I think that’s what you call striking out, my friend.”

“Shut up, Charlie.”

* * *

The bowling league is well underway but the evening hasn’t exactly been uneventful. Kawalsky is living up to his nickname of “gutter guard” as he’s yet to hit the pins on both throws, while Walter’s been benched for his bowling ball landing in SG-1’s lane just as Daniel was about to throw. Then there’s Teal’c, who almost put a hole in the back wall because he threw his bowling ball with that much force it cracked two of the pins and sent the rest flying into the neighboring lanes. Jack finds the antics amusing, and it helps take the sting off his own below-par performance but there is one thing he can count on: Samantha Carter is officially kicking everyone’s ass at bowling and helping _The Pin Pushers_ make their way towards winning this week’s competition.

Not that Jack really minds; SG-1 is currently sitting in second place and as long as he beats the Marines, he’s happy.

But the more the evening goes on, the more he finds himself gravitating towards the doctor and away from the game. There’s just something about her that’s pulling him in and he can’t – and doesn’t want to – escape. The discovery spooks him because he’s never felt that way about a woman before and he decides he needs to put a little space between the two of them. Under the pretense of ordering another round of drinks, he makes his way over to the bar. He’s there for less than a minute before he has company.

“Having a good night, son?”

He turns to find Hammond by his side and he nods. “Yes, sir.”

“You made a quick getaway there,” he continues with ease. “I thought the good doctor might be getting the better of you.”

Jack snorts but doesn’t deny his statement.

“I’m just… bowling with the punches, General. No pin intended,” he shrugs before he takes a long pull of beer.

A hearty chuckle escapes his commanding officer before he clasps a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll like her once you get to know her.”

“Oh, I adore her already, George,” he quips, lifting the rest of the drinks but then he pauses in his efforts to take them back to their teams and finds himself asking, “What’s the plan for tomorrow, with regards to Carter?”

“Her introductory briefing is scheduled for zero-eight-hundred. I’d like you to be there, Jack.”

He swings around to look at the older man and frowns in confusion. “Me, sir? Why?”

“As Sam will be focusing on R&D, I thought you could provide the doctor with a better insight into some of the technology your team has already encountered.”

The suggestion makes sense and he nods in agreement. “Shall I let Daniel and Teal’c know?”

“No,” Hammond replies, then smiles. “There’ll be plenty of time for them to talk tomorrow – after you’ve given Sam a tour of the base.”

“You – you want me to show her around?”

“Like I said, Jack,” and the colonel tries to ignore the way Hammond’s smile changes, “you really will like her once you get to know her.”

Then, he’s left standing alone wondering what on earth’s just happened.

* * *

In the end, _The Pin Pushers_ top the table with the first win of the tournament and after the begrudging congratulatory comments, the crowd finally disperses, leaving just SG-1, General Hammond and Sam behind.

“I should go too,” she finally says, politely pulling away from a conversation with Daniel. “I don’t want to be late for my first day.”

She receives a nod from Hammond who bids her a good evening and before Jack has a chance to think it over, he grabs his bowling bag.

“I’ll walk you out,” he offers, resolutely refusing to meet the eyes of his teammates.

The cool, night air washes over him as he follows Sam outside and it helps clear his head as he tries to think of something safe to say.

“So, where’d you learn to bowl like that?”

She steals a glance at him and smiles. “I’m a military brat. I needed a hobby to keep me sane as we moved from state to state.”

He smirks at her honesty, but can’t help but wonder who her relative is – and if he knows them. Or whether George knows them. When Sam’s pace starts to slow, Jack realizes they’ve arrived at her car, a little sports number, and he whistles appreciatively.

“Well, bowl me over,” he murmurs, secretly thrilled when Sam doesn’t roll her eyes at his poor pun, but instead ducks her chin to try and hide her smile. So, he just can’t help himself. “It's a nice ride.”

“Thank you,” she beams proudly. “Although I’m still waiting on my bike to be shipped over, so this has to do for now.”

His eyebrows rise impressively and he takes a step closer. “Your bike?”

“A 1940s Indian,” she nods.

“You’ve been holding out on me, doc,” he mumbles, his voice low and husky. “Is there anything else about you I should know?”

“Nothing that can’t wait until our briefing tomorrow, colonel.”

“It’s Jack,” he reminds her.

“And it’s Sam.”

He holds her gaze for a second longer, then clears his throat. “Well, _Sam,_ I – ah – guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bright and early,” she confirms.

“You know your way home from here OK?”

“Yes, col– yeah,” she amends when he raises a brow and Jack can’t help but focus on her deepening blush. “I’m staying at the base tonight. I’m good.”

“Yes, you are.”

They fall into a comfortable silence but he knows he really needs to, and should, let her go but he can’t seem to walk away – and the doc doesn’t appear to be in any rush to leave either.

“Listen,” he says, feeling slightly awkward, “I was wondering –”

The sound of people talking and laughter fills the air and he glances over his shoulder to see Daniel, Teal’c and Hammond making their way towards their respective vehicles. He turns back to Sam to find her staring at him expectantly.

“If I was to try and entice you to join my team next week instead of Hammond’s, what’d be the damage?” he asks instead of the original question he’d planned.

“You want me to join your team?” She cants her head when he nods in confirmation. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugs, running a hand along the back of his neck, “I just thought... maybe we could be pin pals.”

There’s a beat of silence that passes before Sam’s laughter fills the air.

“That’s a really, _really_ bad joke.”

“And yet, you still laughed,” he grins, happy that the tension he was feeling moments ago has vanished.

“Do you always use those lines on women?”

“Just the ones I like,” he says, taking a step closer.

She shakes her head in amusement then turns to unlock her car. “Unbowlieveable,” she murmurs.

He’s momentarily stunned by the pun but then she turns her head, flashes him this amazing smile and he decides there and then that he’s absolutely in love with her.

He watches her slide effortlessly into the driver’s seat before he leans a hand on the door.

“I’m serious,” he says. “I want you. On my team,” he adds quickly, hoping she doesn’t think he’s just a creepy old man. “I think we’d be good together.”

Patiently, he waits as Sam averts her gaze slightly but when she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, Jack wants nothing more than to kiss her.

“I’ll think about it,” she finally answers, “on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ve got to come up with a new team name.”

“How about _Ball-istics_?” When Sam pulls a face, he pretends to be affronted. “_The Bowling Stones_? _She came, she bowled, she conquered_?”

Another round of laughter escapes her. “You have until tomorrow morning,” she says knowingly, before she closes the door.

When the engine roars to life, Jack taps the roof of her car and takes a step back, watching her go until she’s out of sight. Turning on his heel, he finds himself whistling as he makes his way to his truck. He’ll think of a new team name by the time they’ve their briefing in the morning, but for now he’s more than happy to go with, _Strike It Lucky._


End file.
